


snow-kissed

by mattholomuse



Series: McGenji Week 2k17 [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blackwatch Era, M/M, fake blackwatch mission idc abt bc this fic isnt abt that, father/son gabe n jesse implied no mcreyes allowed in my household, this takes place pre-relationship but i assure you there is mutual pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-08 03:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12856278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattholomuse/pseuds/mattholomuse
Summary: Blackwatch agents aren't always successful. Sometimes they knock over vases and spend the evening in the cold, complaining about it. Fortunately, winter offers a very pretty way to mop up their angst.





	snow-kissed

**Author's Note:**

> mcgenji week day 3 - snow

Jesse was not intended for cold weather. With each breath came a swear, a string of profanities and curses at weather so cold he found it shocking that his spittle did not turn immediately to ice.

 _It’ll be easy,_ Gabriel had said. _You’ll be in and out with the info you need, no problems to be had._

Gabriel had not anticipated the sheer arrogance, the raw _stupidity_ of rich people. Where anyone else might have offered a pair of freezing kids some hot coffee, rich people offered nothing but disapproving scowls, upturned noses, and two beefy bodyguards to keep an eye on their guests.

“I hate this,” Genji had grumbled upon entering the house. “Too familiar.”

Not four minutes had passed before Jesse’s coat caught on an ugly vase, sending it spiraling into the carpet, shattering loud enough to wake the neighbors eight miles away.

Genji had not uttered one complaint since they had been chased out into the cold. Jesse could only imagine that he was plotting revenge. It didn’t sound like a bad idea; Jesse might’ve encouraged him, if he’d been able to feel his lips.

“I’m cold,” Jesse spat into the air after what felt like hours of silence. The words fogged, curled and danced about his messy head like grey butterflies. Given a cap to warm his ears, he would have found it beautiful. 

Genji’s gaze was piercing, but not unkind. He scanned Jesse’s wind-scalded face for something that… _something._ An observant man, even Jesse found difficulty reading Genji’s emotions under that half-mask of his.

He was probably warm, though. That little mask probably had a heater, or a tiny mouth blanket. Mouth blanket? Padding. The cold was beginning to freeze his brain.

“I can tell that you’re cold,” Genji said plainly. “You’re shaking.”

“I ain’t shaking!” Jesse protested, rubbing his hands together. A scowl tugged at his lips.

“You’re shaking like a puppy. You need to get your mind off the weather,” Genji said. “I have an idea.”

Jesse did not realize that Genji had a grip on his coat until he was being dragged along, boots scuffing the pavement hard enough that if he fell, he’d no doubt he’d break his nose. Thanks to Genji’s light feet, he managed not to break his face on the ground, instead finding himself sprinting over winter-vacant sidewalks and between cool alleys. 

Memorizing each twist and turn became a challenge, so he took note of monuments, landmarks he’d recognize on his way back: a broken street lamp, a vulgar bit of spray paint, a statue so old its fingers had worn to rusty nubs. 

“Genji! I can’t run in these boots!” Jesse protested, clutching Genji’s hand like it was the last good thing on earth. A laugh rang through the chill air.

“I’d offer you mine, but, well.”

“Ha ha _ha,_ you joker, slow down!”

“I am not the joker here, Jesse!” Genji said with a dark laugh. He ran faster. Wailing like a banshee, Jesse forced his hat further onto his head, until he could see only the ground just before him.

 _Best not headbutt any buildings,_ he thought. _That’s a good way to make a bad day worse._

The wind whipped at his face, lashing his cheeks with cold bites and no kisses. Jesse wondered how Genji could possibly run this fast _all the time_ without consequence, because he was beginning to feel like his lungs were melting. 

“Genji!” He exclaimed, slapping Genji desperately on the wrist. “Genji! Genji! _Genji!”_

Genji grunted. A second later, Jesse’s chest slammed into something hard and metallic, and he wound up flat on his ass, face screwed up into a royal mess of exaggerated pain. 

Genji balanced himself easily. “This will do,” he said, swiping his palms against each other.

With a grunt, Jesse plucked his hat from the pavement and jammed it back onto his head. His lower lip jutted, he looked very much like an indignant child, and rightfully so - most grown men did not take well to being dragged through an unfamiliar city. Only Genji’s presence kept him from feeling too disgraced.

“What’ll do?”

_“This.”_

Genji swept his hand through the air, rustling the breeze with the back of his fingers. At first Jesse saw nothing out of the ordinary. A shriveled bush, a fallen branch. 

White flickered before his eyes, and pressed a freezing kiss to the tip of his nose. Jesse’s face lit up in surprise.

“There’s no way you planned this,” he said softly, to which Genji replied:

“I did not. But I thought it was pretty, so I ditched my original plan.”

“Which was?”

Genji cocked a brow. “Mischief. Of course.”

The snowflakes fell slowly at first, twirling and spinning in the sky, far more gleeful than their cousins. Raindrops were not so beautiful. Hail was not so kind. Snowflakes were happy, bright, and brilliant.

Even Jesse could appreciate that.

“Do you like snow?” he asked Genji, who grunted bemusedly, then sighed.

“I used to. I think I do still, but sometimes… I don’t know. Sometimes I don’t know what I like. All of this reminds me of home.” Genji waved his hand in the direction they had come. “In a strange way.”

“Aw, darlin’...”

“Don’t do that,” Genji grumbled. “Please, I’m fine.”

Jesse silenced, an air of soft reverence hanging between them. He could feel the turmoil tumbling off Genji’s cybernetic body, just as he hoped Genji could feel Jesse’s desire to help. He hoped that it warmed the space between them. Not enough to melt the snow dusting the ground. Enough that Genji did not feel he had to hide.

“Alright, I won’t. But Genji… if you need someone to talk to…”

Genji looked up, and Jesse swore he saw something new in Genji’s eyes, some little spark he did not recognize. He wanted to know what it was, how to bring it and all its tender glory back.

“Thank you. Jesse, I… wanted to ask you one more thing, if you would allow me.” The words were edged with nerves and laced with reluctant hope, the kind Genji tended not to openly express. Until recently, even Jesse had not known it.

“Of course, snowflake,” he teased, earning him a muffled snort.

“Okay, er, _sweet pea,_ I- would you- if I asked you for a hug, would you humor me?”

Jesse did not have to think about that before a grin sprouted on his wind-bitten face. He opened his arms wide, and Genji raced like a bullet into Jesse’s chest, clinging to him like he was his world. Dark, snow-dusted hair tickled the skin beneath Jesse’s chin. Metal fingers curled into the back of his coat.

“Gabriel’s going to be upset,” Genji whispered into the folds of Jesse’s coat.

“Naw,” Jesse responded, combing his fingers through the dark, feathery hair at the nape of Genji’s neck. It had always reminded Jesse of a crow’s wing. “You’re talking about _Gabe._ He loves me too much to be mad at me.”

Genji squeezed Jesse tighter, showing no signs of letting go. Not that Jesse minded; Genji’s presence warmed his cold bones and heated his skin. In particular, his cheeks felt hot to the point of itching. 

“I can see why,” said Genji, nuzzling Jesse’s chest. “You are a lovable sort.”

His cheeks grew hotter.

“You think so? Me and all my complaining?”

Genji finally pulled away, the cold immediately flooding Jesse’s body once more. He moved like a cat, leaving little snowy footprints in his wake. Jesse watched, curious, as Genji leaned over, amassing a handful of powdery snow into a loose ball shape. Too late did Jesse realize what Genji’s intentions were.

The snowball was not firm enough to stay together, bursting into wet dust an inch from Jesse’s face, spraying him with cold.

“Oh, you tiny bastard!” 

Genji cocked his head. “I love your complaining _especially,_ Jesse.”

Jesse dropped into a crouch, scooping and scooping snow into his much larger hands. The whole time, Genji watched, arms folded over his chest, thick brow arched. Soon, Jesse had built a snowball big enough to engulf Genji’s entire head, and with a mighty heave, it went flying through the air, losing pieces the whole way.

A blur of silver flashed through the air, blasting the snowball into a thousand glittering snowflakes.

Jesse narrowed his eyes. 

“I think,” he said, rolling another ball in his hands. “That we have a new mission.”

Genji twirled his blade between his fingers, no doubt slicing individual snowflakes into microscopic halves. 

“You’re _on,_ cowboy.”


End file.
